Ventilator and temperature equalizer



Oct. 22, 1929 M. w. JONES VENTILATOR AND TEMPERATURE EQUALIZER Filed June 21. 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR WITNESSES: Of 5 1., f "I, I ATTORNEY Oct. 22, 1929. M. w. JONES 1,732,938

VENTILATOR AND TEMPERATURE EQUALIZER Filed June 21, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG: 5

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VENTILATOR AN TEMPERATURE 'EQUALIZER Filed June 21. 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG'T it WITNES SE3: IN VEN TOR a? 2.12mi WJom zs,

Patented Oct. 22, 1929 NT OFFICE MARK W. JONES, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA VENTILATOR AND TEMPERATURE EQUALIZER Application filed June 21,

My invention relates to ventilators and more particularly to a device adapted to change the air in a room and to utilize the heat contained in one current of air for heating a current of air moving in the opposite direction and to thus practically equalize the tentperatures of the incoming and outgoing air.

Vhile my invention is adaptable for use in dwellings, oilice and other buildings and for both cooling and heating purposes, it will be described as being used for ventilating large spaces, such as the interiors of theatres. churches and auditoriums. during cold weather when it is necessary to heat the building. In furnishing fresh air to such buildings, there is a considerable amount of heat lost in the air which is expelled and consequently a greater amount of fuel must be consumed in maintaining a certain temperature within the building than would be necessary if it were not ventilated.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a device which will withdraw foul air from the inside of a building and replace same with an equal quantity of fresh air in such a manner as to extract practically a ll of the heat from the outgoing air and transfer this heat to the incoming air, thus furnishing fresh air. hea ed to nearly the same temperature as the expelled air, to the interior of the building with no expense for fuel.

Another object of my invention is to so design the device that it will occupy but a small amount of space, relative to its capacity, and which will require no attention as it may be controlled by thermostats or other automa tic devices,

These objects. and other advantageous ends which will appear hereinafter, T attain in the following manner, reference being: had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a device em bodyingr my invention, and

Figure 2 a plan view of the device taken just below the top cover plate, as indicated by the line 2 2 on Figure 3.

Figure 3 is an enlarged central longitudinal sectional view, taken substantially on line 3-3 on Figure 2; the motor and fans being shown in full. and the central part of the de- 1927. Serial No. 200,345.

vice broken out, as indicated by the dot-and dash lines.

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 44 on Figure 3; the fan shaft housing cap being partly broken away, in order to show the fan shaft housing, and a fragment of an air pipe being shown connected to the device.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, the body of the device consists of a stack of thin metallic plates slightly spaced from one another and connected together to form two sets of equalizing chambers. The intermediate plates 10 are substantially rectangular and have their corners cropped off at an angle, shown in Figure 2, while the top plate 11 has lobular extensions 12 formed on its corners and adapted to cover the outlet wells, as will be described later. The longitudinal edges of top plate 11, intermediate plates 10 and bottom plate 13 are either secured together, as by soldering, or soldered or otherwise secured to side Walls 14.

The upper intermediate plate 10 has the uncroppezl portion of its left end secured to top plate 11 to form a seam 15 and the cropped corners on its right end secured to top plate 11 to form seams 16; thus forming an equalizin chamber 17 between top plate 11 and plate 10 which has an inlet 17 at its right hand end and two outlets 17 at the left hand end. The second plate 10 is spaced from upper plate 10 to form an equalizing chamber 18 and is connected thereto in just the inverse orde'r to that in which upper plate 10 is connected to top plate 11, that is, the uncropped portion of its right hand end and the cropped corners on its left hand end are connected to plate 10 so as to provide an inlet 18 at the left end and outlets 18 at the right end of chamber 18. The third intermediate plate 10 is connected to plate 10 in the same manner as plate 10 is connected to top plate 11 and the fourth intermediate plate 10 is connected to plate 10 in the same manner that plate 10 is connected to plate 1O so as to alternately form chambers 17 and 18 iavinq inlets 17 and 18 and outlets 17 nd 18 respectively. This construction is shown in F1 games 3 and 4; Figure 3 showing the manner in which the uncropped portion of opposite ends of alternate pairs of plates are secured together in order to form equalizing chambers while Figure 4 shows that inlet openings 17 are flanked by seams 16 while seams are flanked b v outlet openings 18". In the left hand end of the device, which is just the reverse of the right hand end, inlets 18 are flanked by seams 1G and seams 15 are flanked by outlets 17".

A partition 19 extends from each corner of the uncropped portion on the left end of plates 10 and then slopes inwardly to form the side walls of a funnel 20; the upper and lower walls 21 of which connect to partitions 19 and to top plate 11 and bottom plate 13 so as to form an air-tight funnel through which fresh air may pass from an inlet pipe 22, fitted to the outer end of the funnel which is preferably circular in cross-section, to equalizing chambers 18. A side wall 23, curved to conform to the outline of lobular extension 12, is secured to the end of each side wall 14 and is connected to partition 19 so as to form outlet wells the tops of which are closed by lobular extensions 12. However, side walls 23 extend below bottom plate 13 so as to form an outlet compartment 25 communicating with both outlet wells 24 and closed on its under side by a plate 26 having an aperture 27 surrounded by a flange 28 formed therein and adapted to communicate with a pipe leading to the outer air through which foul air maybe discharged from equalizing compartments 17. The inner side of compartment 25 enclosed by a plate 29 having its edges secured to plate 26 and bottom p ate 13 and its ends secured to side walls 28.

The right hand end of the device is formed somewhat similarly but, instead of having partitions 19 which converge into a funnel, this end is provided with partitions 30 which connect the corners of the uncropped portion of the ends of plates 10 to a rear wall 31, thus partially forming an inlet box 32, the top and bottom of which are enclosed by plates 33, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. A cylindrical extension 34 is formed on top plate and communicates with the interior box 32 through an opening therein while a cylindrical extension is formed on bottom plate 33 and forms an inlet to box 32 through this plate. A damper 3G mounted in extension 34 for regulating the amount of air which may pass therethrough and a damper 37 is similarly mounted in extension The outlet from this end of the device is similar to that of the left hand end and consists of outlet wells 24 having side walls 23 secured to side walls 14 and to partitions 30, and an outlet compartment 25, connecting outlet wells 24 and enclosed by side walls 23, a plate 29 and a bottom plate 26 having an aperture 27 surrounded by a flange 28 adapted to connect to a delivery pipe 38 through which fresh warm air enters the building. The plates 10 in the center of the device are cut away to accommodate a fan shaft housing 39 and the plates are soldered thereto in order to prevent leakage of air at this point.

A fan shaft 40 is rotatable in housing 39 and has a fan 41 mounted on its left hand end and a fan 42 mounted near its other end; the shaft being preferably mounted in an antifriction bearing 43 secured to the end of housing 89 by a coupling 44. Fans 41 and 42 may be driven in any suitable manner as by connecting shaft 40 to a motor 45 by means of a coupling 46; the fans being so arranged as to drive air from the inlets into the equalizing con'ipartments. The right hand end of housing 39 may be provided with an anti-friction bearing if the device is very large or by a steadying bearing 47 for a device of medium size. This end may also be enclosed by a cap 48 adapted to hold suitable packing against the end of the housing to preventleakage of air around the fan shaft.

Assuming that the device shown in the drawings was installed in a theatre or similar building with a suction pipe connected to extension 3-1 and adapted to draw heated air from a point near the ceiling of the theatre, delivery pipe 38 connected to distribution pipes terminating at suitable locations in the theatre, inlet pipe 22 extending outside the building so as to be in communication with clean fresh air, and a suitable exhaust pipe connected to flange 28 so as to lead the foul air outside the building, the device would operate as follows:

iotor 45, being supplied with power, will rotate fans 41 and 42. Fan 42 will draw the heated air from near the Ceiling through the suction pipe and extension 34, and force it into equalizing chambers 17 through their inlets 17 and out of chambers 17 through outlets 17 to the outer air by the way of outlet wells 24, outlet compartment 25 and the exhaust pipe connected to flange 28, as indicated by the whole arrows on the drawings. At the same time, fan 41 will draw fresh air from the outside through inlet pipe 22 and force same into equalizing chambers 18 through their inlets 16 and out of chambers 18 through outlets 18 to delivery pipe 38 by the way of outlet wells 24 and outlet compartment 25*, as indicated by the halfarrows on the drawings.

Inlets 17 and 18 are preferably of the same area and outlets 17 and 18 are also preferably of the same area but the crosssectional area of the inlet to each equalizing chamber is somewhat greater than the total cross-sectional area of both outlets from that chamber so that, when air is forced into the equalizing chambers by the action of the fans, it will be somewhat retarded in its passage therethrough and consequently be under a very slight pressure. The material of which intermediate plates 10 are composed is preferably as thin a metal as can be successfully manufactured into a device of this character so that the heat contained in the outgoing air may be readily transferred through these thin plates to the incoming air. It also follows, that the slower the rate of movement of air through the equalizing chambers, the more nearly are the temperatures of the incoming and outgoing air equalized.

If the air at the ceiling has a temperature of 90 and the outside air a temperature of it follows that the air entering equalizing chambers 17 wi l have a temperature of 90 and the air entering equalizing chambers 18 will have a temperature of 35". As stated above, the plates separating the equalizing chambers are so thin as to readily allow the excess heat contained in the air in chambers 17 to pass through plates 10 and heat the air passing through chambers 18. From actual use, it has been found that under the above conditions, the air leaving the ceiling at 90 will have a temperature of but 37 when exhausted into the outer air and that the air from the outside, which had a temperature of 35, will be delivered into the building at a temperature of 87, thus showing that it is practical to utilize Very nearly all of the heat contained in the air expelled from a building during the process of ventilation.

The air in the building may be initially heated and its temperature maintained in the customary manner. However, the temperature of the air may be readily maintained by subjecting the outgoing air to a heating agent or by introducing heated air through extension 35. Dampers 36 and 37 have been provided so that the amount of air drawn from the ceiling through extension 34 and from other sources through extension 35 may be accurately regulated.

In artificially cooled buildings, such theatres, in which the outer air is at a higher temperature than the air in the theatre, heat may be extracted from the incoming air in exactly the same manner as is heat extracted from the outgoing air as previously explained. In this case, however, the cool foul air is drawn through extension 35 from a point near the floor of the theatre and forced through equalizer chambers 17 by fan 42, as previously described, while fresh air is forced. through chambers 18 by far In this case however, the incoming air 1, xi g through chambers 18 transmits its excess heat to the outgoing air passing through chambers 17 and is delivered into the theatre at a substantially lower temperature than that of the outside air.

lYhile I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention and described it as applied to a certain use, it is evident that it may be applied to other uses and that various structures may be designed for carrying the invention into effect, and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the precise construction connecting with the various chambers in a manner to cause a lateral spread of the fluid from the inlets to the outlets through alternate chambers, and means for forcing a fluid from another source through the other chambers whereby heat in the fluid passing through one chamber may be transferred to fluid passing through an adjoining chamber, the cross-sectional area of the outlets from each chamber being less than the cross-sectional area of its inlet.

2. A device of the character described including a plurality of plates spaced in close relation to one another and connected together to form two sets of equalizing chambers each having at one end a centrally placed inlet and at the other end laterally positioned outlets; the chambers in one set being disposed alternately with those of the other set; a casing connected to one end of the plates and having a suction compartment and a delivery compartment; a casing connected to the other end of the plates and having an inlet compartment and an exhaust compartment; the equalizing chambers in one set having their inlets communicating with the suction compartment and their outlets communicating with the exhaust compartment and the equalizing chambers in the other set having their inlets communicating with the inlet compartment and their outlets communicating with the delivery compartment; fans in the suction and inlet compartments connected to one another and adapted to force air through the equalizing chambers,

and means for actuating the fans.

3. A device of the character described including a plurality of plates spaced in close relation to one another and connected together to form two sets of equalizing chambers having inlets and outlets; the chambers in one set being disposed alternately with those of the other set; a casing connected to one end of the plates and having a suction compartment and a delivery compartment, a casing connected to the other end of the plates and having an inlet compartment and an exhaust compartment; the equalizing chambers in one set having their inlets communicating with the suction compartment and their outlets communicating with the exhaust compartment and the equalizing chambers in the other set having their inlets communicating With the inlet compartment and their outlets communicating With the delivery compartment; a fan shaft housing carried by certain of the plates, a fan shaft rotatable therein, fans fixed on the shaft and rotatable in the suction and inlet compartments for forcing air through the equalizing chambers, and means for rotating the shaft.

4. A device of the character described including a plurality of substantially rectangular plates having cropped corners and connected to one another to form two sets of equalizing chambers having inlets and outlets; the chambers of one set being disposed alternately with those of the other set; means for forcing air through one set of chambers in one direction, and means for forcing air through the other set in the opposite direction the inlets of the chambers being formed between the uncropped portions of the ends of the plates and the outlets being formed between the cropped corners of the plates, at the end of each chamber opposite its inlet, and the cross-sectional area of the inlet to each chamber being greater than the combined cross-sectional area of both its outlets.

5. A device of the character described, including a plurality of parallel chambers defined by intervening Walls and connecting side Walls, inlet openings centrally of opposite ends of alternate chambers, and outlet openings laterally positioned at their other ends.

6. A device of the character described including a plurality of chambers having inlet and outlet openings so arranged as to cause a lateral spreading of fluid passing through the chambers from the inlets to the outlets, the arrangement also being such that the fluids flow in opposite directions in alternate chambers.

In testimony Whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

MARK W. JONES. 

